A Note of Thanks from the Coordinator

At times our own light goes out and is rekindled by a spark from another person.
Each of us has cause to think with deep gratitude of those who have lighted the flame within.

 —-Albert Schweitzer

In this season of Thanksgiving,  I extend my sincerest gratitude to all who make our program so successful. Thank you to the mentors who give so selflessly of time and energy to truly get to know our mentees and help bring out the best in them, shining light towards brighter futures. Thank you to the young people for whom this program was developed. We learn more from you than you realize! In reaching out to you, we learn more about ourselves. In listening to your hopes and dreams, we reflect on and grow our own.

 To the community of Tehama County from whom we have received so much support in the form of time, money, creativity, volunteer hours, direction and encouragement: We couldn’t do it without you!  

While I am the “face” and voice of the Tehama County Mentoring Program, I am certainly not doing this alone! The program receives the support of a talented group of professionals in  Student Support Services  at the Tehama County Department of Education. My thanks to Talia, Dianne, Suzanne, Tina, Jo, Denise, Yuliana and our fearless leader, Amy. Thank you to our superintendents Larry and Charles for creating a positive environment to do our work.

With gratitude,     

Melissa

Creating Mentoring Relationships that Last

Mentoring is effective for youth development when it is done consistently over time.  The Tehama County Mentoring Program is structured through guidance from the Elements of Effective Practice for Mentoring, a rigorously researched handbook utilized by mentoring programs throughout the country.

Here are some suggestions from the handbook for creating lasting, effective mentoring relationships:

• Maintain a steady presence in the mentee’s life. That means showing up for scheduled meetings or, when that is not possible, telling the mentee inadvance, in order to avoid any disappointment. A phone call, e-mail or fax can help when a face-to-face meeting isn’t possible.

• Focus on the mentee’s needs––not the mentor’s own wants and needs. Mentors should look to improve the mentee’s prospects while respecting the young person’s life circumstances and perspective. This includes not trying to transform the mentee or impose the mentor’s own values on the mentee.

• Pay attention to the mentee’s need for fun.  

• Get to know the mentee’s family without getting over involved. Mentors need to understand that they are not substitutes for parents.

• Seek out and use the help and support of mentoring program staff.

By contrast, less effective mentors:

• Do not meet regularly with the mentee;

• Adopt an authoritative tone;

• Put more emphasis on changing the mentee’s behavior than on developing a warm relationship based on trust and respect; and

• Try to transform the mentee by imposing a set of values inconsistent with the mentee’s life circumstances.

Join Mentoring in Support of PAL and Summer Reading

Rotary Cooks it Up for Mentoring!

Rotarian Dennis Garton accepts a thank you certificate from Mentor Coordinator Melissa Mendonca at a Red Bluff Rotary Club meeting on October 13, 2009.

Rotarians Mike Methard, Roy Gould, Tex Ash, Will Murphy, Tom Amundson, Earnie Graham and Dennis Garton join Melissa in celebrating a successful breakfast at the fairgrounds.

The Red Bluff Rotary Club is a great supporter of the Mentoring Program, providing kitchen help every year for our Monster Pancake Breakfast. Members live the Rotary motto of “service above self” by arriving before dawn each year to fire up the griddle and mix up pancake batter. 

They run the kitchen like a well-oiled machine, allowing Mentoring staff and volunteers to greet the public and showcase the program to patrons in the dining room. We are grateful for their help.

PAL Loves Pancakes…and Mentoring!

Several members of the Tehama County Police Activities League Board of Directors gathered today with two mentees in the Tehama County Mentoring Program to promote the upcoming Monster Pancake Breakfast on October 3, 2009 from 8-11am at the Tehama District Fairgrounds. All proceeds support the Tehama County Mentoring Program.

Pictured here are:   Danny Rabalais of the Tehama County Sheriff’s Office, Chief Paul Nanfito of Red Bluff Police Dept, Melissa Mendonca, Mentoring Coordinator, Lt. Kyle Sanders and Officer Mike Coley of the Red Bluff Police Dept.  Front are mentees Jake and Owen Onopa.

Mentoring is widely recognized by law enforcement as a positive youth development actvity that supports a caring, safe community.

Monster Pancakes + Monster Trucks= Monster Fun!

It’s time again for the annual Monster Pancake Breakfast to support the Tehama County Mentoring Program! Join us Saturday, October 3 from 8-11am at the Tehama District Fairgrounds. The Red Bluff Rotary Club will be serving up pancakes and ham made with ingredients donated by Rolling Hills Casino. Mentors and mentees will be serving our guests. Delicious Dutch Brothers Coffee and juice will wash it all down. Tickets are $5 each, with all proceeds going to the Tehama County Mentoring Program.

The highlight of the event will be Monster Trucks on display from the Major League of Monster Trucks! Drivers will be having breakfast with our guests and are happy to sign autographs.

We will also have the famous raffle baskets available. Volunteers from the Tehama County Department of Social Services have outdone themselves this year with brilliant baskets of exciting goodies. The themes this year are Positively Purple, Think Pink, Green is Keen, Candlelight and Tender Loving Care. Tickets are $1 each or 10 for $5. Baskets are available for viewing at Umpqua Bank in Red Bluff now through Friday October 2. They will also be on display at the Monster Pancake Breakfast, where the prize drawing will be held.

The Mentoring Program is also teaming up with St. Elizabeth Community Hospital and the Major League of Monster Trucks to add an additional opportunity to meet Montser Truck Drivers and see their amazing trucks up close. Join us from 2:00-6:00pm on Wednesday, September 30 at the St. Elizabeth Surgery Center, 2340 Liberty Park Way. The festivities will include hot dogs, Dutch Brothers smoothies and Baskin Robbins Ice-Cream, all sold at very reasonable prices, with portions of proceeds benefiting youth mentoring.

The Tehama County Mentoring Program wishes to thank the many businesses and community organizations that work so creatively with us to support the youth of Tehama County. We urge you to visit their websites, which are linked in this article.

No Kidding! It’s Fair Time Again!

The Tehama County Mentoring program has joined the Red Bluff Chamber of Commerce in celebrating the 2009 Tehama District Fair. Tina Zastrow, our colleague at Student Support Services, helped us transform a Chamber-supplied metal cutout into a fantastic mentoring goat on his way to the fair after a Lunch Buddy meeting with his mentee “kid”. Our new goat friend is spending time at the Tehama County Department of Education before heading out to the Tehama District Fairgrounds  September 24-27. See if you can find him there! He gives new meaning to the fair’s theme “Be a Kid Again!”

You’ll find the Mentoring Program in some surprising places this year at the fair.  See how many places you can find us and then let us know what you discovered!

Profile in Cross Age Mentoring: Megan Brunello

Tehama County Mentoring Program’s Americorps*VISTA member, Suzanne Seesman, has been expanding the Cross Age Mentoring Program since she began her VISTA service year in December 2008. During that time, Red Bluff High School student Megan Brunello has become a well-respected and appreciated cross-age mentor. She has been mentoring for two years now at a SERRF program in Red Bluff. Suzanne caught up with Megan to learn more about her.

Suzanne writes: Megan Brunello is one of Tehama County Mentoring Program’s Cross-Age Mentors.   She is a high school student who has shown a lot of dedication helping her mentee, a younger student in our community, learn and grow.  Mentoring is only one of the several ways that Megan is active in and around Red Bluff and I wanted to know what motivates her to do well and be a young leader.  At the end of this summer I had the chance to discuss mentoring with Megan and I wanted to let our readers of all ages in on the conversation.

Suzanne: Megan what is your favorite….

Food: Italian

Movie: “The Family Stone”

Kind of music: country

Game or activity to do with your mentee: drawing

Megan, you have been mentoring for two years now.   How did you find out about mentoring?

I found out about it in the bulletin at school.

What compelled you to become a mentor?

I like kids and I wanted to help out someone who needs my help.

What brought you back to mentoring after your first semester?

I really liked working with my mentee and seeing the kids learning, adapting and getting better at the things they’re working on.

Aside from mentoring what are some of the activities you’re into outside of school?

Swimming and 4H

What is your favorite subject in school?

Math

Are you thinking about college?

Yes

What are you interested in studying?

Medicine

Where would you like to go?

I’m not sure yet.

 As a mentor your goal is to have a positive effect on a younger student’s life.   You have definitely been a great mentor. Do you think being a mentor has had an effect on your life?

Yes. I think so.  It helps me become better at talking to people.  It helps me to get over being shy.

What advice, if any, would you give other high school students who are interested in mentoring?

I think mentoring is fun and is good for you.  You get to work with kids and see how they work in their own environment.  I think it’s a good experience. 

Thank you for sharing your time and experience Megan!

Back to School for Lunch Buddies!

The backpacks are stuffed with new school supplies, haircuts have been had and fussed-over outfits hang in closets for a dynamic first impression. Yep, it’s the first week of school in Tehama County!

 That means it’s time for Lunch Buddies to start back up with their mentees after a summer off…..and for new mentors to join the successful program. Lunch Buddy mentors meet once a week during the school year on campus with their mentee. They utilize the school lunch break as an opportunity to share conversation. Both mentor and mentee provide their own lunch.

 The program was designed for busy professionals who wanted an opportunity to mentor during a fixed time period. It’s also appealed to parents who wish to mentor other children, but can’t commit to extra time outside the school day due to their own family obligations.

 Mentors may choose a school location based on proximity to their home or work. Students at each school in the county are waiting for the caring ear of a mentor. One lunch hour a week can make a huge difference in the life of a child.

Cross Age Mentoring

“Becoming a mentor is one of the best decisions I have made in my life. I have seen huge changes in (my mentee) from the way she communicates with others to the way she presents herself.”

-Sofia Trejo, Cross Age Mentor

Sofia wrote these words on her final paperwork for the mentoring program about three years ago. It is no surprise to anyone that she is now a college student and her mentee is preparing to start advanced high school classes.

The Cross Age Mentoring Program offers a tremendous opportunity for high school students to capitalize on their “coolness” to the benefit of an elementary student in need of academic support. There is a magical connection between high school and elementary students that lends its self to mentoring. A teenager can have a tremendous influence on a younger student, and the Cross Age Mentoring Program channels that influence in a positive manner.

With a new school year gearing up, it’s time to build our force of Cross Age Mentors. High school students are invited to apply to the program through our office at the Department of Education. Mentors must commit to at least one day a week after school for an entire semester at a SERRF site of their choice. They are welcome to mentor more days than one. Mentors remain with the same mentee for the semester.

Cross Age Mentor Coordinator Suzanne Seesman will be on campus at Red Bluff, Corning and Los Molinos High Schools once school begins, but students are welcome to apply directly to our office prior to her visits. We welcome students from public, private, charter and home schools.